Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik on Friday called on ethnic Serbs to leave the federal police force and judiciary and join the government of Republika Srpska, the Serb entity in the deeply divided country.
The move follows a series of actions that have heightened tensions in Bosnia, coming a week after Dodik was convicted for defying an international envoy overseeing the Balkan country's peace accords.
"We have ensured them a job while preserving their legal status, ranks, and positions. They will receive the same salary or even a higher salary than they had," said Dodik, president of Republika Srpska.
Dodik later insisted there were no plans for violent escalation but warned that the RS had "the ability to defend itself, and we will do that."
Earlier this week, Dodik signed into law a series of measures barring the federal police and judiciary from operating in Republika Srpska. The legislation, passed by the RS parliament last week, came after Dodik was sentenced to a year in prison and banned from office for six years for refusing to comply with decisions by Christian Schmidt, the international high representative overseeing Bosnia's peace accords.
The legislation has escalated tensions in Bosnia and poses a key test for its fragile, post-war institutions.
Dodik also said this week that he planned to ignore a summons from Bosnia’s chief prosecutor, who is investigating him for allegedly undermining the constitution.
The situation on the ground remained tense.
The Srebrenica Memorial Center, where most of the 8,000 victims killed by Bosnian Serb forces in July 1995 are buried, announced it had closed "until further notice," citing security concerns amid the ongoing political crisis.
"This decision has been made due to the inability to ensure adequate security guarantees for our employees, collaborators, guests, and visitors," the center, located in Republika Srpska, said in a statement posted online.
Bosnia's federal police director, Darko Culum, dismissed rumors that RS security personnel had targeted federal police offices in East Sarajevo and Banja Luka.
"The security situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina is stable and calm," he told N1 television.
Denis Becirovic, the Bosniak member of Bosnia’s tripartite presidency, condemned Dodik’s latest move and urged state employees to remain in their positions.
"Bosnia and Herzegovina will prevail. It is difficult, but we will win. We cannot give up," Becirovic said.
Since the end of Bosnia’s 1992-95 war, the country has been divided into two autonomous entities: the Serb-dominated Republika Srpska and a Muslim-Croat federation. The two are linked by weak central institutions, while each has its own government and parliament.
The high representative, appointed by the international community, holds broad powers, including the authority to remove political leaders and annul laws.
Dodik’s conviction last week stemmed from his role in pushing through two laws in 2023 that were previously annulled by Schmidt. The legislation rejected the authority of the high representative and Bosnia’s constitutional court in Republika Srpska.
Dodik has long pursued a separatist agenda, frequently clashing with Bosnia’s institutions. He has repeatedly threatened to withdraw Republika Srpska from Bosnia’s central institutions, including its army, judiciary, and tax system – moves that have led to U.S. sanctions against him.
